


RK1700 December 2020

by Phrensiedom



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Brother/Brother Incest, Fluff, M/M, Protective Siblings, Protective Upgraded Connor | RK900, Twincest, Twins, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Is Bad at Feelings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:28:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27829705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phrensiedom/pseuds/Phrensiedom
Summary: Prompt fills for RK1700 December 2020. I'll be jumping around and combining prompts.
Relationships: Connor/Upgraded Connor | RK900
Comments: 39
Kudos: 38
Collections: RK1700 December 2020





	1. Human (18) & Connection (17)

Niles’ eyes flicked open to complete darkness as the bunkbed he shared with his twin brother shifted beneath him. He heard Connor sniffling, his breath tremulous, as he ascended the ladder and crawled between the sheets. Fingertips brushed his shoulder, followed by his brother whispering, “Can I sleep with you? I had a bad dream.”

Niles rolled to his side, and though Connor’s face was obscured by the dark, he could still see him in his mind’s eye as though it were midday. They shared a face that was identical in nearly every way—pale white skin, dark brown freckles, cupid’s bow lips tinted coral—save for their eyes. Connor’s eyes were wider with thicker lashes and a warm brown tone that gave him an innocent, chaste appearance. Niles’ eyelids naturally rode lower and his irises were a frosty blue, which made him appear simultaneously aloof and sly. Even at five years of age, adults and other children tended to gravitate more toward Connor and shy away from Niles. He pretended to not care, even with their parents and older brothers. 

Niles pulled the sleeves of his thermal pajama top over his hands and gently brushed the tears from his brother’s cheeks before putting his arms about him and holding him close. He whispered, “You can stay.”

Connor sniffled again and wiggled closer, drawing his arms to his chest and resting their foreheads together on the shared pillow. Niles studied his eyes for a few moments, curious what he was thinking about. 

“Can I tell you my dream?” Connor said, fidgeting with his fingers, which unintentionally brushed against Niles’ collarbone. 

“Uh-huh.”

“Mommy and Daddy got a divorce, and Mommy took you, and Daddy took me, and they wouldn’t let me and you see each other ever, and I missed you so much.” Connor paused and drew a long, trembling breath, tears forming in his wide eyes again. “And when I woke up, I thought it was all real, so I had to make sure you were still here, or I couldn’t go back to sleep.” 

Niles shivered at the thought of being separated from his twin. It would be cruel, inhumane. He didn’t know what he would do without his brother, and thinking on it was saddening him terribly, a weight cradled in his stomach and dragging everything down with it. His facial expression, however, did not reflect this. His emotions remained hidden within, as always.

“It wasn’t real,” he reminded Connor, “and Mom and Dad won’t do that.”

“But how do you know?” Connor said, blinking and dislodging a tear that dripped from the corner of his eye to the pillowcase. 

Niles didn’t know. He could only guess, but Connor didn’t need to know that. He said, “Because they’re in love, and they know we would be sad.”

Connor swallowed hard and said, “Okay.” They both fell silent for a few moments, studying one another’s eyes. Finally, Connor said, “You’re sad, Niles.”

“I’m not.”

Connor’s expression saddened further, his eyebrows drawing together. He whispered, “I can feel it.”

A shiver passed through Niles. On occasion, Connor could sense his emotions perfectly without any obvious verbal or body language clues. It made it challenging to lie to him.

Niles forced a sharp breath of annoyance from his nostrils, scowling, and said, “Okay, fine. I’m a little sad thinking about not seeing you ever, but it’s fine because it won’t happen.”

Connor’s hands fidgeted together again, and he said, “You promise?”

“Promise.”


	2. Superior (5) & Identity (24)

Connor and Niles sat next to one another at the kitchen table, their 2nd grade math books lying open before them, each silently completing the assigned problems. Connor sat criss-cross on the varnished wooden chair, hunched over his notebook, both elbows resting on the table, and frowning deeply, his dark sepia brown eyes darting between his book and the problem he had copied into his notebook. Niles, however, sat with his sock-clad feet resting on the floor, his back straight, his expression as barren as ever, and his cold blue eyes focused and attentive. Even without considering the differences in posture, Niles was an inch taller of the pair, the difference in height between them growing each year.

As seemed to always happen, Niles sailed right through the assignment, pausing to consult his textbook only rarely, as most all school subjects came quite easily to him. Connor, on the other hand, was struggling and becoming frustrated, the concept at hand making less and less sense as he reread and reread the instructions and the explanation of how to solve the problems. 

After nearly 15 minutes of this, he groaned and dropped his forehead to table with a soft thud. He felt defeated by the challenge that math always seemed to present him and demoralized by the ease with which his identical twin approached the subject. 

Startled by the sudden movement and noise, Niles’ eyebrows rose for a moment before returning to their flat, spiritless resting spots. He placed his pencil in the middle of his textbook and rested his hands in his lap, studying the back of Connor’s ash brown head for a few moments. Finally, he said, “Do you want help?” his tone cautious, as his counterpart sometimes took umbrage with such offers, viewing them as Niles flaunting his own abilities. 

Connor was silent for a few moments before he rolled his head to the side to look up at his brother’s expression. It was blank, like normal, but he extended his hand, which Niles readily took. Connor continued to study his eyes until he felt the now-shared warmth and sincerity spread within his chest. With the reassurance his brother was offering his assistance from a place of earnestly wanting to help and not to humiliate, Connor lifted his head and released Niles’ hand, saying, “Please, yeah. I can’t figure it out.”

Niles nodded and scooted his chair and his notebook closer to Connor’s, their shoulders now touching and Connor’s bent knee now resting on Niles’ thigh. He inclined his head to check his brother’s work so far. He said, “You got the same answers I did up until the one you’re stuck on. Show me which part is hard.” 

Connor smiled, pleased he had at least succeeded so far in the assignment, and turned his notebook so he could point to the steps in the equation and explain what he had done and why. He bit his lower lip and said, “I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”

Sitting back in his chair, he closely observed Niles’ face as he leaned forward to compare his own work against his brother’s, setting the notebooks side-by-side, the faintest wrinkle appearing between his dark brows. Connor was struck, as occasionally happened, by the imbalance in his twin’s emotional output. It seemed the only emotion he ever expressed was anger and its subtypes, such as irritation, frustration, or impatience, while fear, sadness, and even happiness remained suppressed. Connor was one of the few people to be privy to the knowledge that he experienced such emotions at all. Their parents and brothers were the remaining four people, and they had barely ever witnessed it themselves. 

It was particularly puzzling as Connor wore his emotions so wholly on his sleeve, quick to smile, cry, scowl, or scream. He considered himself fortunate, however, that he was able to share Niles’ feelings, as they would never be so close with one another were he unable to know his brother’s emotions. He smiled to himself, so appreciative of his best friend. 

“Okay, I see what happened. Here,” Niles said, drawing Connor’s attention to the corresponding equation in his notebook. 

Connor tilted his head, his attention wandering around the page, distracted by Niles’ perfect handwriting. At the top right of the page, he had written his name, but something was off about it. Connor leaned forward, frowning, and said, “Niles, I think you spelled your name wrong.”

“What? Don’t be ridiculous.” 

Connor pointed, his eyebrows raised, and said, “Look!”

Niles raised the notebook, and a dark red blush suffused his cheeks as he read the words Nines Stern-Manfred. He slammed the notebook on the table and grabbed his pencil to erase the mistake, but Connor gripped his wrist and yanked his hand away from the page. 

“Niles, wait!” The fastidious twin glared fiercely at his brother, but Connor refused to wilt under that intense gaze. “It’s okay to make mistakes.” 

“It’s not,” Niles said, his voice strained with anger.  
“It is,” Connor insisted. “I make lots of mistakes. Do you think it’s not okay for me to mess up accidentally?”

Niles hesitated, taken off-guard. He met his brother’s gaze and shook his head. Connor grinned and nodded, seeing he was catching on. He said, “Then why is it so bad for you?”

Niles said nothing, staring vacantly at Connor for a few moments before turning his attention back to the error on his homework. Connor released his wrist, and he hesitated for another second before he set his pencil down without fixing the mistake. 

Connor wrapped his arms about his twin’s neck and pressed their cheeks together, giggling and saying, “I’m so proud of you, Nines.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Stern-Manfred. Markus is also an RK model, making him an RK brother, in my view. Carl and Amanda were, canonically, 15 years apart in age, which is not an entirely unrealistic age gap, and Leo was born when Carl was 47. It would also explain how Kamski and Carl know one another. Definitely not arguing it's canon, just that there is canon precedence.


	3. Comfort (6) & Cherish (30)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Incest-y vibes. No outright incest.

Niles’ eyes flicked open, exposing the cold steel blue of his irises, as he gradually rose from a state of low, in-and-out consciousness induced by a fever. He shivered, his body chilled, a deep ache in each of his muscles, and readjusted the blankets he shared with his twin. Home sick from school, they lay together on the couch, cuddling for solace and warmth, in spite of their mother’s chastisement of them for this “childish behavior.” They failed to see how being 12 years of age precluded them from comforting one another when they were miserable and simply ignored her. 

Connor’s head lay on the pillow they shared, his face mere inches from Niles’. He appeared to be asleep, eyes closed, breaths even and regular, his cheek smushed against the pillow. He was just as sick as Niles, his cheeks flushed a light rose pink, his body radiating heat, a white crust settled in the corners of his eyes from tears of pain that had air-dried. Niles lifted his hand with the intent to brush back Connor’s bangs, which were stuck to his forehead with sweat, and found his brother, previously balanced on his side, had slumped against him in his sleep, trapping his hand between their chests and pressing him back into the cushion. 

Finally recognizing this, a familiar heat—distinct from the fever—settled into Niles’ body, making his fingers and toes tingle and his chest and stomach clench with anxiety. He swallowed hard, finding his mouth dry, and gently pushed against Connor’s shoulder, in the hope of freeing himself without waking him. Connor, however, was not deep enough in sleep for that, and immediately began to squirm, letting out a faint whimper. Niles snatched his hand away and clamped it over his own mouth and nose, struggling to regulate his breathing and avoid the near-giddy, gasping inhale his lungs seemed to desire in response to the sensations of affection and tenderness coursing through his body. 

After a few moments passed, so too did the bizarre near-spasming of his diaphragm, and he was able to remove his hand and draw a deep, calming breath. Connor had relaxed again, his facial expression becoming placid, albeit with a faint sheen of sweat, once more. Observing this, his attentive eyes soaking in every facet of his twin’s face, Niles was hit with the overwhelming urge to touch. 

Hand shaking, touch light, he swept Connor’s hair away from his face, unbothered by the cool, damp feeling of his sweat. As Connor did not stir, and the urge remained, Niles brushed the backs of his fingers along the curve of his hairline, down his temple, and with the curve of his jaw. His brother’s skin was terribly soft—unblemished and smooth—despite their recent entrance into puberty. He swept his thumb along the rise and fall of his cheekbone and over the cheek itself, which still held onto an ever-fading amount of baby fat. 

Gazing at Connor in that moment, he felt such a strong sense of appreciation and love for him, an expansive, open feeling in his chest, a deep warmth in his belly, and an itch in his arms that longed to crush him against himself. A ghost of a smile twitched at the corners of Niles’ lips but failed to fully materialize, as seemed to always happen regardless of what he felt inside. 

Connor stirred for a moment, drawing a particularly deep breath, but quickly settled back, his lips twitching just as Niles’ had. The observing twin bit down on his own lower lip, doing his best to squash the urge to touch Connor’s, which were parted slightly and seemed so ready to be pressed. Niles clenched his teeth hard, ignoring the ache in his jaw, and instead lifted his hand to stroke the other’s hair, gently running his fingers through the dark ash brown strands again and again until the overwhelming desire had passed. 

Releasing a tensely held breath, Niles retracted his hand to his chest, the impulse largely mollified, but jumped slightly as Connor whispered, “Why did you stop?” His voice was dry and cracked repeatedly. 

“How—” Niles swallowed hard, “How long have you been awake?”

Connor’s eyes slid open, and Niles found they were glazed and dull, missing his spark. Connor said, “Since you pushed my hair back from my forehead.”

The relief that washed through Niles, thankful he had not given in and pressed his thumb to Connor’s lips, was immense. He began to stroke his brother’s hair again, causing the miserable young man to smile and close his eyes once more. While certainly not feeling well himself, Niles could tell he was far less ill, and Connor needed soothing more than he himself did. 

Niles leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to his beloved twin’s forehead, murmuring, “Go back to sleep, Con.”


	4. Snow (15) & Warmth (11)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Increasing incest-y vibes. No outright incest.

Connor and Niles walked side-by-side, their elder brothers trailing behind them, as they made their way home from school. It was mid-winter, with a foot-and-a-half of snow piled on either side of the sidewalk, a low temperature, and a chill wind, which suited Niles just fine. Connor, on the other hand, was miserable, bundled in a puffy coat, a thick scarf, gloves, and a fleece-lined beanie with two pom-poms on either side of the hat to mimic animal ears. Niles had cocked an eyebrow when he showed it to him, but Connor had merely stuck out his tongue and worn it anyway, still very much a child at heart even at 15. 

Per usual, Connor was whining about the weather, while Niles said nothing, his flat facial expression remaining unchanged throughout the ten-minute walk, nothing out of the ordinary until a snowball exploded in a puff of white against Niles’ upper back. He whipped around to glare at Leo and Markus, his legs continuing to carry him forward as he examined them. Both brothers stared back at him, their expressions flat, betraying no hints as to who had thrown the offending projectile. Niles raised his hand and presented his middle finger to them before turning back around, his shoulders hunched a touch more now and his body stiffer. 

Connor had 15 years of experience reading his twin’s body language, and he could tell he was pissed. As much as he loved Niles, it was amusing to mess with him now and again, and a smile formed in one corner of Connor’s lips. A moment later, however, it disappeared as a snowball smacked him in the back of the head, causing him to cry out in surprise and a touch of pain. 

In one fluid motion, Niles spun, grabbed his own handful of snow, packed it, and whipped it at Markus, catching him directly in the face. Connor’s eyes widened with shock and no small amount of fear. Niles and Markus were both notoriously competitive, neither willing to back down, even when it reached the point of foolish and hazardous and, on rare occasion, blows. It had been such a problem in the past that competitions of any kind had been forbidden in the home since Markus was ten and the twins were nine.

Naturally, that hadn’t stopped confrontations from forming outside the home, so Connor and Leo had been forced to develop their own methods for deescalating them. While Leo and Connor didn’t interact much—the eldest brother more comfortable with Markus than with the twins, and Connor tending to actively avoid him, nearly certain he was using increasingly harder drugs—in this particular struggle they were united.

Their similar-hued eyes met for a moment, and they each turned to their respective brother. Connor grabbed Niles’ upper arm and gave it a light tug, saying, “Nines, it’s okay. I’m fine, really.”

However, the incensed young man’s hard stare into Markus’ mismatched eyes didn’t waver for even a moment. Connor gave the arm another tug, but Niles didn’t react, transfixed. The smaller twin glanced over to the other two, Markus seemingly as responsive to Leo as Niles was to Connor in that moment.

Sensing the tension—thickening the air and making it difficult to draw a full breath—was about to snap, which would no doubt lead to a full-on snowball war between the two and, from there, possibly injury, Connor found himself with no choice but to physically separate them. Dropping his backpack to the sand- and salt-littered pavement, he grabbed a handful of snow, pulled the neck of Niles’ coat away from his shoulders, and stuffed the snow down his shirt. 

He didn’t even wait for his taller twin to round on him before he bolted into the deep snow from the sidewalk, headed for the moderately-sized wooded area embedded in the neighborhood that started half-way down the block. Connor released a tiny squeak as snow slipped down inside his boots, but he continued running, glancing over his shoulder only long enough to verify that Niles was indeed chasing him. 

Being well into adolescence and not a particularly sporty kid, it had been ages since Connor last ran at his full speed, and he was surprised to find he found it rather freeing. He weaved between trees, unable to stop laughing, despite how hard he was breathing. He periodically glanced over his shoulder to check on Niles, and each time, found him right behind, glowering at him, clearly irritated by how evenly matched they were. They ran like this for a solid few minutes, until they came upon a small glade. 

Connor reasoned they were far enough away from Markus and Leo to curb any potential outbreaks of competitive behavior, and he was beginning to tire, so he slowed, turning and raising his hands in surrender. 

“I—” he paused to suck in a great breath of icy air, “—give up.” 

Niles either did not hear or did not listen and tackled Connor just short of full force into the plush snow, which puffed into the air around them. Full belly laughs exploded from Connor, his eyes squeezed shut, his mouth opened in a broad grin, his head tilted back, more amused by Niles’ behavior than anything else. When he was finally able to calm his laughter to a mild giggle, he opened his eyes to find Niles’ face hovering above his own. 

The laughter caught in his throat, and he fell silent, struggling to divine what his brother was thinking by studying his steel blue eyes. A moment later, he finally recognized Niles lay on top of him, his hands pushed deep in the snow on either side of Connor’s head to prop himself up. They were both still panting hard, and the intermingling of their breath, frozen in mid-air by the cold, was clearly visible. When Niles shifted slightly, Connor became acutely aware of the pressure of his twin’s stomach and hips against his own, and a tingling warmth suffused his entire body, a deep cherry red blush rising in his cheeks, distinct from the bright red the chill air and exertion brought out. 

Though it was a challenge, given his heart was flailing in his chest from exercise, embarrassment, and the thrill of being so very close to Niles, Connor focused on the sensations in his own chest and stomach, typically the spots where he felt his brother’s emotions the strongest. There was a clench of embarrassment in his stomach, an anxious shortness of breath, but overwhelmingly, an expansive pressure in his chest, threatening to swell beyond the limits of his ribcage. It was a sensation difficult to define. If drastically oversimplifying, one might call it love, but it was much deeper than such banality. 

Focusing harder—their eyes still locked, both unmoving—a faint frown of concentration wrinkling his brow, Connor raised his hand and pressed it to the middle of Niles’ chest, directly over his heart. Despite the layers of thick winter clothing between their skin, Connor suddenly knew what the feeling was—a warm, potent blend of adoration and ardor, cradled in sheer bewilderment—and drew a sharp gasp, causing Niles to shove himself away and to his feet. 

All of this happened within a matter of seconds, leaving Connor lying in the snow, disoriented, staring up at the leaves that swayed above him. He remained there for a few minutes, struggling to untangle the mass of disarrayed thoughts and emotions in his mind, until his phone vibrated in his coat pocket and snapped him out of his reverie. He fumbled for it, his fingers numb, and finally managed to answer it without dropping the expensive device in the snow.

“Are you guys coming back, or should we take your bags to the house?” Leo’s voice was calm with just a touch of worry.

Had it really been that long? Connor blinked and said, “Y-you—” He paused and drew a bracing breath. “You take them back. We’ll meet you at home.”

“Got it.” Leo hesitated. “Everything okay?”

Everything was most-decidedly not okay. “Yeah, everything’s fine. Just getting cold.”

Leo accepted this without argument, and they said their goodbyes. Connor slipped his phone back into his pocket and swallowed hard, his mouth arid, before pushing himself up. He found Niles standing at a distance from him, his back to him, his arms crossed over his chest, his head ducked. This body language terrified Connor, but he recognized it wouldn’t do either of them any good to press him. He silently cursed himself and pushed himself to his feet, walking past his twin without a word, headed for their home and the room they would still share despite the events of the day.


	5. Vulnerable (3) & Soulmate (16)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: We are solidly in incest territory now and will be going forward.

Connor and Niles lay on soft, springy grass, their dissimilar eyes both idly watching the leaves above them sway in the breeze, glimpses of clear, blue sky and rays of sun appearing and vanishing within an instant, dappling the near-identical twins with restless, elusive flashes of warm light. It had been almost one year and five months since they had lain here together, one atop the other, struggling to understand and control their own emotions, when Connor had peered into Niles’ very soul.

The days and weeks and months since had been challenging. For the longest time, they couldn’t be in the same room as one another, save for sleeping. It was obvious to anyone who knew them that their relationship was suffering, and family members would periodically pull one of them aside and inquire about it. But neither breathed a word of what happened, fearful of how others’ opinions of them would change, of the therapy they would be forced into, and especially of the separation they knew their parents would impose upon them. The thought alone brought Connor to tears on a few occasions. So, they had both kept it hidden, an implicit, unspoken understanding between them.

They had yet to speak about it, but they both thought about it frequently. Niles in particular spent hours examining each moment of his memories of that afternoon. The snowballs, his rage at Connor, the chase, and his impulsive decision to tackle his brother. He thought often about the instant Connor realized how intimately close they were, the shock and--was it embarrassment or discomfort or shyness or desire? Niles could only guess as, much to his dismay, he still could not feel Connor's emotions the way Connor felt his--that crossed his face before the uncertainty became overwhelming for Niles, and he forced himself to break away.

He dwelled on the emotions that had arisen for him as well. The anger had passed nearly the instant they landed together in the snow, as it was immediately overwhelmed by the romantic and sexual desires Niles had been suppressing for a decade. He had stared at Connor, unmoving, not even to breathe, until the smaller twin realized he was the only one laughing. And then they had stared at one another, struggling to divine what the other was thinking, each too fearful of loss to bridge the small gap between their lips. Niles' emotions surrounding Connor had been a tangled mess since they were young, and in that moment, it felt as though all of the threads were yanked, tightening the tangle into a solid knot.

And there they had remained, despite his efforts to loosen the snarled and confused feelings when he lay in bed at night, struggling to ignore the urgent erection that appeared whenever he thought about the object of his desire, who lay asleep a few feet away. Overtime, Niles recognized he was incapable of picking the knot apart on his own; such a complex job required Connor's light, deft touch. And yet, this was not an option, so he suffered in silence.

As did his twin. Following that afternoon in the snow, Connor knew his feelings about Niles were reciprocated, but the space that had formed between them, filled with nothing but chilled air, presented an obstacle. He too lay abed sleepless, wrestling with thoughts of how to overcome the distance, the discomfort. Many nights, he managed to work himself up to a resolve to confront Niles the next day, but the cold reality that presented itself in his brother's icy gaze sapped his nerve.

The strain between them had gradually faded nearly to the comfort level they shared prior to the incident, and they now were on the cusp of their 17th birthday. As they lay next to one another in the early August heat, beneath the trees on the edge of the small clearing in which the course of their lives was forever altered, Niles’ hand found his brother's in the grass, and he twined their fingers together.

“Connor, do you like me?”

Connor’s breath caught in his chest, and he held it, suppressing his panic and silently begging Niles would clarify the meaning of his question. When he maintained his silence, Connor said, “Of course. You’re my twin.”

More silence as Niles considered this. “No, not as your brother. As a person.”

Now it was Connor’s turn to ponder, his brown eyes dancing from one point to the next amongst the leaves above them. Did he actually like Niles when the fact that he was his identical twin was not part of the equation? The young man was aloof, emotionally stunted, quick to anger, perfectionistic, and at times pretentious and disdainful. Not the most attractive qualities Connor could imagine. On the other hand, he was deeply intelligent, knowledgeable, and perceptive; when he did like a person, his expressions of affection were thoughtful and meaningful, he was loyal, and he was protective; and underneath everything, he was a genuinely good person who struggled to express his goodness due to deep-seated feelings of self-hatred, shame, and inadequacy.

Connor turned his head to look over at his twin, whom he found was already gazing at him, his cheek pressed into the grass. Connor gave him a sweet smile, and said, “Yes. I like you as a person, Nines.”

His tone unchanged, Niles said, “No one else does.”

Connor shook his head. “That’s not true. Mom and Dad, Markus, and Leo like you.”

“Out of obligation, at best.”

Connor could see arguing with him would not accomplish anything, so he rolled onto his side in the soft grass, removing his hand from Niles’ and propping his head on it, to look at him as he struggled to think of something to say. His twin noticed this change and mirrored it, holding his gaze steadily. Memories from the winter arose unbidden in Connor’s mind: Niles’ face suspended above his, so close they shared the same breaths; the tender, slightly achy sensations that the intimate press of their bodies had produced deep in his muscles; the adoration and ardor he had felt radiating from his brother’s core—stronger than any other emotion he had ever sensed from him.

Connor could feel his own blood quicken, a deep red blooming in his cheeks; overwhelming, near-painful heat settling in his gut; and a lightweight, tingling sensation spreading throughout his body. Focusing on Niles, he could feel the same adoring and ardent tugging on his stomach in Connor’s direction.

Despite this, Niles broke the little trance they had both fallen into and sat up without a word. Taken completely off-guard, Connor stared ahead through the now-empty space his brother’s face had formerly occupied, struggling to gather his wits and catch up. He could still feel the intense desire radiating from Niles, but there were so many other emotions twisted through—confusion, shame, fear, disappointment, and of course, anger.

Niles, meanwhile, clenched his teeth to the point of pain and dug his fingers so deeply into the grass they pierced through to the earth beneath. He was overwhelmed and didn’t know what to do. The threads of the knot within him were pulled so taut and in so many different directions, he was paralyzed with indecision. Should he get up and walk away again? Stay where he was but say and do nothing? Above all, he wanted to shove Connor onto his back and touch him and kiss him and fuck him right there on the grass in the secluded yet still distinctly public wooded area. Badly as he wanted it, he couldn’t. The risk was too great.

Connor’s gaze found Niles’ fingers, plunged into the dirt up to the second knuckle, immediately recognizing the tension that traveled up into his defined arm muscles, the restraint he was enforcing on himself. The smaller twin drew a deep breath and sat up as well, his feet in front of him, his knees popped half-way up, and rested his forearms on his knees. He looked over at his brother, meeting his bright eyes, who turned his head away.

“People like you, they just have a hard time understanding your facial expressions and your body language. They don’t know you like I do.”

Connor reached down and laced his fingers through Niles’, gently pulling them up from the grass. Niles tilted his head to observe this and then raised it to meet Connor’s chestnut eyes, which riveted to his, refusing to let him go. The larger twin said, “Perhaps, but it amounts to the same. The only person I have in this world is you.”

“And you will _always_ have me, Niles,” Connor said, his voice dropping to a murmur.

They stared at one another for a few agonizing moments before Connor finally broke. Their shared gaze snapped as he, unable to help himself, glanced down to Niles' coral pink lips, which appeared agonizingly silky and plush, and back up to blue eyes. Simultaneously they leaned closer and reached for one another—Niles’ hands finding Connor’s cheeks to cradle them, and Connor’s finding Niles’ thigh and upper arm to brace himself—their identical lips meeting for the first time.

The kiss was sweet and chaste, a simple press of the lips, a moment of pause to savor the silken feel, Connor’s grip tightening as a mass of intermingling emotions—both his own and Niles’—slammed into his chest. Pure electricity, equal parts invigorating, tender, and painful, radiated through their limbs from the points of contact between them.

After a few moments, they parted just enough to look one another in the eye, their faces still hovering within inches, both lightheaded and silently giddy. Tears welled in Connor’s eyes and slipped down his face to meet Niles’ soil-caked thumbs, which left streaks of deep, earthy brown on his pale skin.

Niles’ eyes widened a touch, and he said, “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have t—"

Connor swallowed hard against the lump in his throat and shook his head, managing to whisper, “No, no, no. I’m _happy_.”

“Oh,” Niles said simply, elation rising and expanding within his ribcage. It only showed externally by the faintest of twitches at the corners of his lips, but it didn’t matter, as Connor could feel it as strongly as if Niles had screamed it into his ear.

Again, neither spoke nor moved for a few moments, until Niles inclined his head for another kiss, which Connor stopped with a hand on his twin’s shoulder. Connor said, “Anyone could happen by. We should go home.”

Niles agreed readily, and they returned home, taking careful steps to avoid detection on the way to their shared bedroom. Connor closed the door silently behind them and locked it. When he turned, Niles looped one arm about his waist, pulling their bodies tight to one another, while the other hand cradled the base of his skull, and kissed him vehemently. Connor instantly melted into the embrace, wrapping his arms tightly about his brother.

They remained like this for a few minutes, clinging to one another and silent, save for the soft sounds of their lips meeting, meshing, and parting again and again. The air about them rapidly grew heady, and Niles was overwhelmed by the desire to explore every minute inch of his twin’s body. He kissed Connor deeply, their tongues sliding together, and lowered his hands to the button of the other’s jeans. Connor froze and snatched Niles’ hands away, cutting the kiss off sharply.

“It’s too dangerous,” he whispered.

He was right, but Niles was desperate. “This weekend, then. Mom and Dad will be gone, and Markus never bothers us.”

“He will if he finds there’s a closed, locked door between him and us.”

“But—”

Connor cut him off, saying, “It’s a moot point anyway. I’m not—” He hesitated, his gaze darting between Niles’ eyes. “I’m not ready yet.”

The taller of the twins frowned slightly in thought, examining Connor’s gaze and cursing whatever quirk of nature had failed to gift him the same emotional connection his brother enjoyed. A few moments of this passed, and Niles nodded once, disappointed but understanding. Connor’s rosy lips—reddened by friction—broke into a grin, and he pulled Niles’ face down to kiss him yet again.

When they finally parted, Connor took Niles’ jaw in his hands, and firmly holding eye contact, murmured, “I love you, Nines.”


End file.
